Simon Phillips discusses Chelsea’s alleged pursuit of Toby Alderweireld.
Tottenham are in a fight to keep hold of Belgium International defender Toby Alderweireld, as interest circles from Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Manchester United, and now according to The Mirror, Chelsea.
The 29-year old has less than two years remaining on his current contract, and it is reported that Spurs are not prepared to match his wage demands to sign an extension, said to be near £150,000 a week.
As a result, there has been unrest between the player and the club, with Alderweireld forced to sit out some recent matches despite being fully fit to play.
Chelsea seems to be looking at a number of these types of transfers recently as they look to make an overhaul of the squad in the summer, whether Manager Antonio Conte stays at the helm or not. Ross Barkley was signed on the cheap after being near to the end of his contract with Everton, and they are also reportedly looking at both Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey from Arsenal, who are in similar contractual positions.
The Mirror report that the blues are prepared to match the wage demands of the former Atletico Madrid defender, who has been capped 68 times for his country. He is valued at £35M by transfermarkt.
However, Spurs owner Daniel Levy has a reluctance to sell to immediate rivals, especially Chelsea. Therein lies the problem for me and this potential deal for Chelsea – I can only see him going abroad.
Not only that, the defensive area for Chelsea is one place that is looking reasonably solid, with Kurt Zouma expected back in the summer and wants to compete for a position, and of course our current crop of defenders being in decent form. It would depend massively on the Manager at the time and whether David Luiz and Gary Cahill will want to stay.
Written by Simon Phillips – @SiPhillipsSport
